JAY — Selectpersons voted Monday to accept a 2016-17 budget timeline leading up to an April 25, 2017, annual town meeting referendum.

“We set this up the same as last year, but it can be changed,” Town Manager Shiloh LaFreniere said.

Last year was the first time the town’s Budget Committee met with selectpersons and department heads during an initial budget workshop to discuss proposed department budgets.

“I liked last year,” Selectperson Judy Diaz said.

Chairman Terry Bergeron agreed. Both he and Diaz previously served on the Budget Committee.

“They are involved right from the start,” Bergeron said. The more people involved, the better, he said. 

LaFreniere said she has included a second budget workshop date if needed. There is also room for a third workshop.

She asked anyone with ideas on budget savings to present them to her immediately. This will allow them to be researched prior to deliberations, she said.

Selectperson Tim DeMillo said there were a couple of things he didn’t like about last year’s process. It started off OK, he said, but then it got into a cut-and-hack process to reduce the budget by 10 percent across the board. It became a free-for-all, he said.

The second thing was that a department head reviewed a budget with the group and cuts were agreed to. After the department head was dismissed, the budget was put on the chopping block and the department head was not there, he said.

“I’d like to have both committees, the Budget Committee and select board, to have their heads on straight,” he said, when budgets are reviewed and decisions made.

A draft timeline for the Regional School Unit 73 budget process will go before that board Thursday, LaFreniere said.

“Right now, it looks like our meetings don’t overlap,” LaFreniere said.

Diaz previously requested a meeting be arranged for Jay selectpersons to meet with the school board prior to budget talks. The meeting is set for 6 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 2, at Spruce Mountain Middle School in Jay. Representatives of Livermore and Livermore Falls have been invited. The meeting is open to the public.

Jay’s budget timeline calls for all proposed department budgets to be submitted to LaFreniere by Jan. 6 for review. 

* Nomination papers will become available Jan. 30 for selectperson and RSU 73 director positions. Papers are due March 13.

* A budget workshop with selectpersons, budget panel and department heads is scheduled for 6 p.m. Jan. 17 in the library at Spruce Mountain High School in Jay.

* A second workshop, if needed, is scheduled for 6 p.m. Jan. 30 at the high school library. A third workshop could be held between Feb. 15 and Feb. 28, if necessary.

* A budget meeting and votes on each department budget is scheduled for 6 p.m. Feb. 13 with selectpersons, Budget Committee and department heads at the high school library.

* Library, charitable and civic organizations will meet with selectpersons and budget panel at 6 p.m. Feb. 15 at the high school library.

* A public hearing will be held on all town meeting warrant articles at 6 p.m. March 13 at the high school library.

* Absentee ballots will be available March 24.

dperry@sunmediagroup,net

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